


The Cold Spot

by Nixie_DeAngel



Series: ColdWestAllen Weeks [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: CSI Barry, Established WestAllen, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff not Fear, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Oblivious Len, Polyamory, Reporter Iris, bartender Len, mention of other characters, protective Len
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 03:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8604565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel
Summary: He’d flirted that first night, almost shamelessly so, according to Lisa. It’d been so enjoyable though, bantering back and forth with both of them. Iris with her coy but dry-wit and Barry, so easily flustered but quick with his remarks. It’d been refreshing for the first hour or so before he’d been brought back to reality at seeing Iris’s engagement ring.He’d drawn back, closed himself off a little but had still enjoyed his evening with them. When last call had come, and the rain finally relenting enough for them to drive safely, he’d honestly waved them off under the impression that would be the last time he’d be seeing them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> * Day Six of ColdWestAllen Week 2016, Fake/Pretend Relationship

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Since the opening of The Cold Spot nearly ten years ago, Len’s since learned a lot about people. He’s learned when to spot trouble when it walks in, learn to spot working girls and hustles. He can see an undercover cop or a deal going down from his spot behind the counter.

But the first thing he learned though, was to not get involved with his repeat customers, it never ended will and somehow or someway, it ended with one of his mismatched bar stools on fire. So over the course of the decade, he’s flirted and sweet talked but he’s never crossed that line.

He’s never wanted to cross that line, until _they_ stumbled into his bar on a rainy night. _They_ being the brash, confident reporter for Picture News, Iris West-Allen and her sweet, bashful husband, the forensic scientist for the CCPD, Barry Allen.

He’d flirted that first night, almost shamelessly so, according to Lisa. It’d been so enjoyable, bantering back and forth with both of them. Iris with her coy but dry-wit and Barry, so easily flustered but quick with his remarks. It’d been refreshing for the first hour or so before he’d been brought back to reality at seeing Iris’s engagement ring.

He’d drawn back, closed himself off a little but had still enjoyed his evening with them. When last call had come, and the rain finally relenting enough for them to drive safely, he’d honestly waved them off under the impression that would be the last time he’d be seeing them.

Though a week later, he’d been surprisingly pleased when they’d wandered back into to his place, and had kept doing so for the next year. It’s a nice routine that they fall into. At first it's just Thursday nights, before slowly falling into one or two nights a week before suddenly Barry and Iris are there almost every night, chatting with Len and the others who work there.

Though without fail, every Thursday night still finds Len tucked into the back left corner of the bar, spending his evening talking and flirting with the Allen’s and Lisa handles the rest of the bar. He only steps away those nights, if Lisa needs help because the bar has gotten crowded, which thankfully only happens every so often.

 

( _The only time they’d missed their Thursday night drink had been the week they’d gone on their honeymoon._

 _He’d spent that night getting so drunk, Lisa had honestly been afraid he’d send himself to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. He hadn’t of course, but the siblings had a sworn Snow White promise to never bring up Len’s mopey-ness._ )

 

Len grins at Iris when she makes her way in, grabbing the things he’ll need to make her a Manhattan and getting to work, as she drops onto her stool with a finger wave. He only looks up when he’s ready to care her drink over to her but pauses when he sees the uncomfortable look on her face as she tries to get the large man flirting with her to back off.

Len knows he’s setting himself up for hurt even as he walks around the bar and over to her, slipping his arm around the petite waist and raises a brow at the man bothering her.

“How was work dear?” He keeps his voice even, just a touch playful but mostly sarcastic. It’s the same tone he uses whenever he serves her and her husband. “You get the scoop you were hoping for?”

He finally turns his head enough, to glance down at her out of the corner of his eye. He can’t help it when his smirk turns more genuine at her pleased smile. He swallows down the urge to smile at her in return, ignores the way his chest feels warm and tingly at the action.

It doesn’t take much more than a few sharp words and a cold glare before Woodward is retreating away, tail between his legs. Len doesn’t bother stopping the eye roll before turning to nod at the woman before moving to slipping back around on the other side of the counter.

They don’t mention it when Barry arrives late, and as far as Len is aware, Iris doesn’t bring it up ever again. They spend the night talking away just like usual but Len finds himself acutely aware of Iris’s body even more than usual.

 

( _It’s a ridiculous thing, to remember how Iris felt tucked into his side for less than three minutes, and it’s two weeks later when he catches himself daydreaming that he knows he has a real problem on his hands._ )

 

He comes in from the back, intent on restocking when he sees a tall, broad blond man trying to back Barry into the bar nearly a month after he’d had to rescue Iris. He felt his eyes narrow and a growl slip through his clenched teeth at the look of fear flashing across Barry’s face.

Carefully placing the crate of bottles down, he yanks the towel off his shoulders to wipe at his hands as he stalked around and slinked in between the man. Crossing his arms and giving the man the same look he gave all of Lisa’s boyfriends.

“I think it’s time you left _buddy_ , before I’m forced to escort you out for harassing _my_ boyfriend,” Len kept himself still and his tone as cold as ice. He didn’t move when he felt Barry tentatively grip his hands in the back of Len’s sweater.

Len knows he’s this guy isn’t going to find him as intimidating as most of his regulars do, but Len also knows when he sees the taller man blanch a little that Mick’s come bounding out of the kitchen and is heading directly over to them.

 

( _Iris and Lisa have spent days cooing over how protective of Barry, Mick’s become in the months since the Allen’s had started frequenting the bar._

 _Barry had been the only customer to ever finish one of Mick’s Ultra Burgers, a burger that weighed nearly eight pounds. From the minute Mick had spotted that empty plate, he’d declared Barry his favorite, in his own gruff way._ )

 

Len’s surprised it takes far longer to calm Barry down, then it does to get tall and blond to back off and leave the bar. Mick sticks around for a moment before clapping Len on the shoulder and telling Barry he’d send out something to eat. And just like last time, when Iris arrives, they don’t talk about it and none of them mention it again.

Len honestly thinks it’ll be the only time he has to step in to fend off unwanted advances for both of them but Len finds himself doing it again, and again, and yet again over the course of the next two months, when everything finally comes to ahead.

“Are you really just not interested in us?” Iris demands late one Thursday night after Len’s kicked everyone else out. It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally Barry and Iris stick around to help him clean and close up.

He freezes before turning his head slowly to look over at the woman, head tilting to the side as he turned her words over in his head. “Excuse me?”

Letting out a huff of anger, Iris stormed over to where he’d been wiping down a table. Reaching up, she gripped his sweater in one hand and wrapped her other around the back of his neck before dragging him down. Surging up to meet his lips half way, Iris tilted her head right before slotting their lips together.

They only pull apart, when Len hears Barry let out a whimper. Stepping back, felt his face harden and his fist curl up but before he could say a word, Barry was suddenly right in front of him, pulling him into another heated kiss. It took a second for the shock to wear off before Len was wrapping his left arm around Barry’s waist, his right moving up to grip at the back of Barry’s hair.

“God that’s so hot,” Iris murmured out loud after a moment of watching the two men get lost in one another.

Len snapped back to himself, as he sprung away from Barry, back paddling away from the pair, “The hell is going on?” he looked between the two, watched as Barry flushed and hunched in on himself a little at his cold tone, while Iris merely rolled her eyes and moved to step up next to her husband. Len couldn't help but feel his chest tighten just the tiniest bit at the kicked puppy look on Barry's face.

“We _thought_ ,” she starts, voice just a touch icy as she eyed him like he was a clueless idiot for a moment before going on, “That we’d finally make our move, since _you_ clearly weren’t picking up the hints we were dropping for you.”

She rubs Barry’s arm for a moment, eyes trained on Len, keeping him pinned where he is before letting out a sigh, placing herself just slightly in front of her husband and starts talking, “We’ve been trying to make you jealous and it seemed to work but you never did anything but put on a show for the bar.”

Len feels stuck for a moment as he processes her words before feeling hi jaw drop slightly, "You were trying to get me to make a move on you by having people flirt with you?" He lets out a snort as the Allen's wince together at his words. "You could have clued me in, with actually words."

"We've spent the last year and a half flirting with you," Barry cuts in softly, a pale blush still lighting up his cheeks.

"You're married," Len points out, hands moving up to slip onto his hips as he eyes them for a long moment. "I'm not interested in just sex," he bites out eventually, almost letting out a relieved sigh of his own when they both mutter out a 'thank god' and 'we want more than just that too.'

 

( _At their commitment ceremony five years after finally getting together, Lisa will wistfully say it was the fate of the universe bringing them together, that rainy night._ )

 

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**Author's Note:**

> I'm [Nixie](http://nixie-deangel.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Please don't be afraid to tell me what you think of this! Or any of my works! I adore comments!


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